US bishops: Sex claims show US cardinal’s ‘moral failure’

Source: Associated Press

By GILLIAN FLACCUS

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Wednesday that sex abuse allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick dating back decades raise serious questions about how the claims could stay secret for so long as the retired archbishop from Washington, D.C., rose in prestige and power.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo said the allegations against his former colleague reveal a “grievous moral failure” and urged anyone who has experienced sexual abuse at the hands of the church to come forward. DiNardo reminded bishops in the United States to take those reports seriously and contact the police when required.

“Both the abuses themselves, and the fact that they have remained undisclosed for decades, have caused great harm to people’s lives and represent grave moral failures of judgment on the part of church leaders,” he said in a statement.